Abstract

Background

Two of the current methodological barriers to implementation science efforts are the
lack of agreement regarding constructs hypothesized to affect implementation success
and identifiable measures of these constructs. In order to address these gaps, the
main goals of this paper were to identify a multi-level framework that captures the
predominant factors that impact implementation outcomes, conduct a systematic review
of available measures assessing constructs subsumed within these primary factors,
and determine the criterion validity of these measures in the search articles.

Method

We conducted a systematic literature review to identify articles reporting the use
or development of measures designed to assess constructs that predict the implementation
of evidence-based health innovations. Articles published through 12 August 2012 were
identified through MEDLINE, CINAHL, PsycINFO and the journal Implementation Science. We then utilized a modified five-factor framework in order to code whether each
measure contained items that assess constructs representing structural, organizational,
provider, patient, and innovation level factors. Further, we coded the criterion validity
of each measure within the search articles obtained.

Results

Our review identified 62 measures. Results indicate that organization, provider, and
innovation-level constructs have the greatest number of measures available for use,
whereas structural and patient-level constructs have the least. Additionally, relatively
few measures demonstrated criterion validity, or reliable association with an implementation
outcome (e.g., fidelity).

Discussion

In light of these findings, our discussion centers on strategies that researchers
can utilize in order to identify, adapt, and improve extant measures for use in their
own implementation research. In total, our literature review and resulting measures
compendium increases the capacity of researchers to conceptualize and measure implementation-related
constructs in their ongoing and future research.